Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Night of the Demons (2009)

As of late, it feels like every horror movie from the 70's and 80's has been remade or will be remade. So far, we've gotten remakes of "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Friday the 13th", "My Bloody Valentine" and more. Hell, even "I Spit on Your Grave" has been remade, which is something I never saw coming. So while many cry foul over this, what happens when a movie that while fun, isn't really a classic gets remade? Well, you might get Adam Gierasch's remake of "Night of the Demons", which really isn't that different in tone and spirit than the original.

The plot is pretty much the same as the original: a group of dumb teens played 20 and 30 somethings go to a party in a house with a dark past, hosted by Angela (Shannon Elizabeth.) A big difference-unlike the original, this is a party that you would love to be in, full of hot girls, loud music and plenty of booze. Well, the cops break this whole thing up, leaving behind Angela, Maddie (Monica Keena), Colin (Edward Furlong), Suzanne (Bobbi Sue Luther), Lily (Diora Baird), Dex (Michael Copon) and Jason (John F. Beach.) And, like the original, all hell breaks loose when the demons come out to play.

If the movie has anything working against it, it's that it feels the need to explain too much. One of the things that worked about the original was that it didn't feel the need to over explain everything to the audience. All we knew was that they were demons, they possessed you, and they hated dumb kids meddling where they shouldn't. That out of the way, it does have one thing the original didn't-decent to good performances. Granted, they aren't award worthy, but they work here, and everyone gives it their all without missing the mark. Plus, we get a few memorable new moments, including a nasty breast and face ripping and even demonic possession via anal sex. Demonic butt sex-there's a first (though Japan probably has probably done that in some cartoons many a time.)

Apart from that, well, as I said it really isn't a very different movie than the original. Sure, it has some more fun songs and thankfully doesn't remake the movie shot for shot (though we do get an updated version of the infamous lipstick scene and a Linnea Quigley cameo that pays homage to her introduction in the original), but in spirit and tone, it's the same beast. That means that it's a not particularly scary but fun for what it is ride, filled with gore, boobs, bad jokes and more. Most fans of the original probably won't feel betrayed, as it's a fine beer and pizza horror flick. Nothing more, nothing less.

About Me

A Wright State University Graduate, Joseph Howell has been an avid horror fan since he was seven or eight years old-he has Godzilla movies to thank for that. He's now devoted some of his time to watching (and at times suffering through) horror and exploitation fair to review for your reading pleasure. Oh, and he loves Cherry Coke Zero, and he recommends eating popcorn while watching older genre movies.